Tampa Bay QB Jameis Winston Once Dreamed Of Playing For Eagles And Phillies
By Kevin McGuire
With the Philadelphia Eagles preparing for a home game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, growing concern for the health of starting quarterback Sam Bradford continues to escalate. If only the Eagles could have drafted a franchise quarterback in the NFL Draft like Marcus Mariota or this week's opponent, Jameis Winston. It turns out Winston grew up an Eagles fan and would have loved to be a part of the Birds if the opportunity presented itself. He'd even be open to playing for another Philadelphia sports team.
Sam Bradford separates shoulder, but still wants to play
Over the course of his career, even during his college playing days at Oklahoma, Sam Bradford has always seemed to take a beating on the field. His injury history was a concern for many when he was acquired by the Eagles in the offseason, and now he reportedly has a separated shoulder. It was said an MRI revealed a separated shoulder that was suffered during Sunday's loss to the Miami Dolphins. He left the game and was replaced by Mark Sanchez for the remainder of the game. Bradford reportedly wants to keep playing this weekend against Tampa Bay, but the Eagles may have to take a chance with Sanchez.
Tampa Bay QB Jameis Winston grew up an Eagles (and Phillies?) fan
One of the stories floating around this week focuses on this week's opposing quarterback, rookie Jameis Winston. This week Philadelphia media learned he grew up an Eagles fan wanting to be the next Randall Cunningham (he had to watch Cunningham's highlights since he missed that era of Eagles football). This is actually old news of course, as Winston once discussed his big dreams growing up with baseball and football (Winston was a talented baseball prospect at Florida State as well), and he even mentioned wanting to one day play for both the Eagles and the Philadelphia Phillies.
"To be honest with you, my mind is so big because I dream so big," Winston said in 2014. "I don't think about none of the little stuff. I think about playing with the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Falcons. Doing it big with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Philadelphia Eagles. Living the life."
The Phillies could probably use Winston somewhere in their farm system if he's still open to playing two sports.
For those who still wish the Eagles had Nick Foles...
There are some Eagles fans who wish the team still had Nick Foles leading the offense. There may be some fans in St. Louis feeling a similar way about Sam Bradford this week. Foles, who was traded to the Rams in exchange for Bradford this offseason prior to the NFL Draft, has been benched by St. Louis head coach Jeff Fisher. Case Keenum will be the team's new starting quarterback. Both Bradford and Foles have struggled this season and neither has proven to be the better part of the half. A CBS Philly poll this week asked fans which of the two quarterbacks they would rather have today, and as of the time this story was posted, Foles had a nine-point edge in the results. Unfortunately, the poll did not have a third option for Marcus Mariota.
Kevin McGuire is a Philadelphia area sports writer covering the Philadelphia Eagles and college football. McGuire is a member of the FWAA and National Football Foundation. Follow McGuire on Twitter @KevinOnCFB. His work can be found on Examiner.com.